Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

What a wonderful start to Term 4! There has been such a lovely feeling around the school these last couple of weeks. Above are some photos of the children on the first day of Term 4 which captures the joy of friends and that deep sense of belonging to a great community. It was lovely to hear children and adults sharing stories of their holiday adventures; it appears that all families (and staff) had a much needed and well deserved holiday, in readiness for the exciting term ahead. 

Traditionally, Term 4 is a transitional period for our students, as they prepare to move up to the next year level and even on to Year 7. For many of us, it's hard to believe how quickly the time has flown, in particular, for our soon to be departing Grade 6s. It only seems like yesterday they were in Prep! We look forward to celebrating their journey at OLA this term, in addition to planning their 'Big Day Out', Graduation and final assembly. 

As we settle back into the routines of school life, we take this opportunity to remind families to closely monitor the fatigue levels of the students, particularly with the desire to stay up later as a result of daylight savings. In addition to the enriching academic program planned for Term 4, students will also undergo extensive assessments to review their academic progress and track student growth. We know that students respond best when they are well rested and settled, so we welcome your support with this. 

OLA Fete

We are nearly down to a month to go! Not long now!! 

We are so grateful for everyone's generosity. Our storage rooms have been bulging at the sides so we have moved all Fete donations to Brigid Hall with the books remaining in Exodus Hall.  Thank you to everyone who has donated toys, books, clothes, bottles, gold coins – and in every other way to contribute to our fundraising drives. We couldn’t do it without everyone’s support. Please keep good quality books, toys and clothes coming in.

Lucky Bottles

Don't forget to send in bottles for the lucky bottle stall. All donations welcome (white, red, rose, bubbles or spirits!). This is a popular stall come Fete Day and they sell out early so the more the donations we receive the more we can support our Fete

 Spinning Wheel Hampers

 We would love some extra donations for the classroom hampers.

OLA 2024 Fete Spinning Wheel items

CHOCtober 

October is our Choc-o-block drive month. Check out the flyer for what we need – this stall is always a favourite for all ages.

Working Bee

We are looking forward to welcoming families to the Term 4 OLA Working Bee , Saturday 9 November from 10.00am-12.00pm.  This Working Bee will help us to have our school looking amazing for the OLA Fete.

We especially welcome the following families who are rostered on:

All families rostered for the Term 3 Working Bee which was postponed are more than welcome to come along to this one. We hope you can make this t this one.

If you are not able to make it you are welcome to make a donation to the school. 

Please bring along your tools such as wheelbarrows, blowers/blower vacs, whipper snippers, rakes, shovels, brooms, hedge trimmers, secateurs and other gardening tools.  

2025 & 2026 Enrolments Welcome

Please note our new School Tour Dates from now until the end of the year. Please note that our next school tour is at 9.15am on Friday 15 November. If these dates do not work for you please call the office to arrange a time that suits you and your family. It has been so lovely to meet with each Prep child for 2025 - we thank all families for joining us at OLA and for helping your child make the best transition possible.

Prep 2025 Transition Dates & Times

We are excitedly preparing to welcome our 2025 Prep families and students for the Prep Orientation program. The orientation program is an exciting and enriching experience, as the children transition from a small Kindergarten setting to a larger, more vibrant school setting. 

For our new (and not so new) Prep parents, we look forward to welcoming you on Thursday 7 November at 7.00pm. This information evening is a wonderful opportunity to meet new families, teachers and key staff who will work with your children next year. Our orientation sessions are as follows: 

Calling for new OSAC members

I take this opportunity to thank Susan Wangondu and Shashi Wijesinghe for their service to the OLA community as active members of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Primary School Advisory Council (OSAC) over the last 3 years. The experience and expertise that you both have provided OLA is very much appreciated. We especially appreciate you both being at the end of the phone for advice and support. Thank you Susan for your exceptional role as Chair of OSAC this year. We know you will both continue to be great advocates for our wonderful school and that you will find new and exciting ways to remain connected.

As two vacancies have become available on OSAC, we are calling for nominations to fill these positions. Please find attached on the OSAC tab, the OSAC Membership Nomination Request, which contains detailed information regarding the role. Also please note the application closing date of Thursday 31 October. We look forward to securing two new members for our team whose skills compliment those of the members already on the School Advisory Council.

Calling for new OLA Parents & Friends members

We thank our 2024 P&F Committee for their support of our great school and we especially thank our Co Chairs Lauren Koukoumanos & Claudelle Salter for creating such a welcoming and positive team. This year has seen a large focus on providing opportunities for the children and parents to have fun, enjoy being part of our great community and to fundraise. Please know that your active support is very much appreciated. We have also loved the social events organised in the different year levels and the support the P&F representatives give their level when there is a need for support for a family, a child or a staff member. These P&F Year Level Reps will be looking for new reps to join them or replace them in 2025. Current P&F Reps please let Lauren and Del know if you are keen to continue or if you have secured a replacement.

If you would like to be part of helping our school next year and adding to our wonderful sense of community, please consider joining the 2025 P&F Team. It is a great way to contribute to the development of the school and meet other parents.

We are looking for two parent representatives from each year level, who are responsible for updating the parents in their year level with important information/reminders, and organising a couple of events throughout the year. For example, the Grade 1 P&F representatives host the Morning Tea for new and current families on the first day of school.

Feel free to chat to this year's P&F members if you would like some more information or, better still, if you would like to get involved. You can also speak with me in person or email any questions or ideas to principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au

Class Placements 2025

It is that time of the year again where our teachers have begun to organise the classes for 2025. This is a highly structured process, reviewing the academic, emotional, social and behavioural needs of all students, to determine the most effective class dynamic. 

To support this process, teachers will ask children to name friends they will work well with for the following year. Students will also be reminded to consider friends they work well with from the other classes in this process. The aim being for each child to have one (1) nominated friend in their class next year. Teachers work closely with School Leadership to arrange these classes, with the final decision resting with the Principal.

We know our families trust the professionalism of staff to meet the needs of all students, and we remind parents to direct specific 'educational' requests to the Principal only (not classroom teacher). If parents have any relevant information that they believe is essential to the class placement process, they are invited to make a time to meet with the Principal to share their thoughts. Parents are requested to make an appointment by 31 October each year. Appointment times can be negotiated with the school office by calling 9584 9488. Your understanding and support with this is appreciated.

Summer Uniform

As of Week 3, all students need to be wearing their full (correct) summer uniform. A school hat must be worn at break times, with a strict 'no hat, no play' rule applying. Students are required to apply their own sunscreen, as staff are not permitted to do so. We encourage families to please apply sunscreen before school and if you would like your child to apply sunscreen again during the day to have a roll on sunscreen in their school bags. 

Correct school shoes and socks must be worn and we remind students and families, when purchasing new school shoes for next year, black sneaker Asics or Nike runners are not part of the regular school uniform. If the sport shoes are leather and black soles then they are welcome to be worn as school uniform.We thank you in advance for your understanding. 

School Fees

Term 4 school fee statements were sent out at the end of last term. We kindly request that all families with outstanding account balances settle their payments at their earliest convenience. In the event that you did not receive your fee statement as anticipated, please reach out to Maria (mhogan@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au). Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Please note Term 4 is the term a school relies on its cash reserves that are paid by our families and that is why our fees are due at the end of Term 3. We appreciate all families who have been at the table or in conversation and have established a payment plan with the school.

New 5 week AFL After School Club at OLA

Calendar

Please open the ‘Key Dates and Events’ tab in this newsletter for important dates or access the OLA Calendar here. Key dates for the coming weeks..

Pupil Free Days for 2024

• Monday 4 November Assessment & Reporting
• Friday 6 December 2025 Planning and Preparation 

Please note on the following dates school finish early at 1pm:

OLA Fete on Friday 22 November

Last day of school Tuesday 17 December

Congratulations

Baptism

Congratulations to Dasher and his little brother Vin on their Baptisms at OLA last weekend. What a beautiful family and faith filled moment. I think Dasha will remember this each time he visits the OLA Church.

Alice out talented author has her work published!

Last term we celebrated Alice entering the Dymocks 2024 Beyond words National writing competition. Out of 4000 students Alice made the top 100 stories from entrants Grade 2 to Year 12. Only 39 primary school students Australia wide were selected in the top 100 so she has done incredibly well. Alice won $50 and had her story published in a short story book. Alice and her family attended the awards night in Sydney last weekend - what an amazing experience. Congratulations Alice. We are so proud of you and we would love your autograph!

Student Work

It’s just the start of Term 4 and already we have some outstanding work being handed in. 

Thank you Mia and Isabelle for sharing your parable and research with us and thank you for presenting your ideas to such a high standard.

OLA Athletics Team

Congratulations to all members of our OLA Aths Team for their best efforts at the Kingston Division Athletics Carnival. Congratulations especially to Tyler (high jump) and Ivan  (discus) for progressing through to the Southern Metropolitan Region Championships which will be held at Casey Fields on Monday. We wish Tyler and Ivan all the very best. 

Story Dogs

Precious moments continue to happen with this extra special Wellbeing and Reading Program. Thank you Rachel and Bonnie for your weekly visits and thank you to the P&F for helping make this happen.

New member of the OLA Family!

Jay has had an extra kick in his step with a new addition to his home - a new little puppy, Dexter. What a beautiful pup.

Brisbane Lions

We have seen some very happy Brisbane fans at OLA over the last couple of weeks and one teacher in particular! What a win! What a premiership!

Condolences

Prayers and Thoughts

On behalf of all in the OLA community we send our love, prayers and support to the Agricola family (Charlie 1JM). Nick's mother Angela passed away during the week. May you speak of your mother, mother in-law and Grandmother often and may you all keep her spirit alive in all you say and do.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Seb in Prep on becoming a big brother during the holidays to beautiful Sophie! Congrats also to Hugh and Clare. It has been amazing to see the family already enjoying drop off and pick up together! The smile of Seb's face has been absolute joy!

May this final term of the school year be a special one. It certainly is the best term for learning and we thank our families for partnering with us to make sure it the best term yet.

Richard Jacques

Principal